Before There is Love
by Shierr
Summary: Harry ends up in Tom's time. They end up falling in love, but what happens before that?
1. Chapter 1: Where Am I?

-A Ultimate Time Travel- by Dahlias114'

**Summary: **YOU decide what era Harry ends up in. Be it the Marauders or Tom's era, or even the Founders. There is one MAJOR rule: Harry must remain in the past. You decide whether there is MPreg or not, you decide who Harry shacks up but it MUST be a SLASH/MM pairing. Do something creative, AU, SOMETHING different than what's out there. Make it as if Harry was tossed back in time but a different dimension where there are kings, and all that Drama. Ultimately you decide. Be it a one-shot or three chapters to fifty short ones. Are you up for my challenge or are you chicken? *clucks mockingly* *g* - Dahlias

First published in .

**Categories:** Harry Potter **Characters: **Harry

**Disclaimer: **None of these characters are mine, the world of Harry Potter is not mine, they belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Warnings:** Language, Yaoi / Slash, OOC, Mpreg, Time Travel

**Rating: **NC-17

Harry woke up feeling smashed. He had no idea what had happened. The only thing he did know was that he had been planting flowers for Aunt Petunia when he had heard a loud crash and fainted. Now his head was hurting and he had no desire to open his eyes in fear of what he might see. Or might not see. He was sure his glasses were broken or something. Finally he hurled up all the Gryffindor courage he had left and opened his right eye a little bit. Bright sunlight shone on the glittering green grass and Harry opened his other eye in confusion. This was not right. Whatever he did with Aunt Petunias garden it was always a dull green, not bright green. With both eyes open, he noticed that he was not in Aunt Petunia's garden, but on an open field with no trees to be seen. He sat up slowly as he observed his surroundings in awe.

"Wow", he whispered and started laughing hysterically. He was not where he was supposed to be, he did not know where he was and he was all alone. Frankly, he was scared. He had never been truly lost or alone. He was sure he wouldn't find his way home as he had been unconscious when he had landed here. He didn't even know how long he had been out cold.

Finally, his laughter subsided and he rose tiredly to his feet. He hadn't eaten anything after his small breakfast and his stomach was growling. Sighing he turned around but still had no idea where should be going. He decided that going with the sun was the best option he had and started chasing the sunset. Darkly he wondered where he had landed and then he started worrying about Voldemort. What if the man had planed this? What if he was in the middle of nowhere and would starve to death? Or would something else happen first? Could one actually die of thirst? With every step Harry took his thoughts grew darker and more desperate.

***

When the sun was getting low Harry noticed a house not too far away. There were even some trees. Relief washed over him and he stumbled forward with more determination than before. The house looked inviting but he wasn't sure if it really was or if it looked that way because he was hungry and thirsty and tired, and frankly, he didn't give a damn what could make a house look inviting. He reached the wooden door and knocked firmly on it. The door swung open and a stout elderly woman stood in front of him. Her face was split in a bright smile and it grew even wider when she saw Harry.

"Darling, we have a visitor!" she screamed and ushered Harry inside. "You look like you haven't eaten in a long time, young man. What is your name? Oh dear, your clothes are all baggy and hanging from your body! We must feed you well, so you'll fit those clothes again. Or better yet, we buy you new clothes and get you to fit into those! If we make you fit into these ones, you'll be overly fat. What do you want to eat, darling? We have cheese, ham, chicken, salad, bred and other good stuff I have cooked myself! Here, have a boiled egg."

Harry felt like choking while he listened to the woman and wondered if she ever breathed. He took a bite of the egg and didn't care if it was poisoned, because it was the best egg he had ever tasted. He closed his eyes melting into the chair and munched the egg slowly, savouring the taste for as long as he could. The woman was like a mother hen as she walked through the kitchen talking all the time. Harry opened his eyes and noticed the man sitting in front of him, smiling friendly. Somehow, the man reminded him of Arthur Weasley, but the man didn't have red hair or blue eyes. It was just the way the man was looking at him. Harry smiled back shyly.

"You seem to be hungry, but you aren't eating fast. Why is that?" the man asked and Harry sighed.

"It would hurt my stomach if I eat too fast when I'm hungry. I'm not that hungry, I just haven't eaten anything since morning", he answered and then looked at the kitchen. "Where am I?"

The man cocked his head looking curious and the woman rushed to the table wit a plate full of meat and bread.

"You don't know where you are? Poor boy!" she exclaimed and looked at him in horror. The man leaned back and said:

"You are not far away from London. Do you know what day it is?"

Harry shook his head and the woman seemed to be in great distress because of this fact. It made him feel a little claustrophobic. The man sighed.

"It is the seventh of July and the year is 1945. You do remember your name, don't you?"

"Yes, I remember that. I'm Harry. I have no parents and was raised by my relatives. I… I don't remember what happened, though. I don't know how I got here", Harry whispered in shock. 1945? He made a quick calculation in his head and sighed then. He had made a time travel without knowing it and in a year where Voldemort young was.

"You are an orphan? Do you have anywhere to live?" the woman asked with worry in her voice and Harry looked at her. She didn't even know him and still she was acting like she had known him for ages. Strange people…

"No, I don't have anywhere to go to. I'm sure my relatives are dead. And if they aren't, I don't want to go back. They won't probably even care if I don't go back", he answered slowly and poked at his food. Somehow he had lost all of his appetite and was rather disgusted at the thought of eating something. The door opened and they looked there. A tall handsome boy came in, but stopped when he saw Harry. They stared at each other before the boy asked the woman:

"Who is he?"

The woman looked with a sad look at the boy while the man answered:

"This is Harry. He is lost and has no parents. I think your mother wants to take him in."

Harry looked just as shocked at this as did the boy. He didn't want to stay with them. He didn't know anything about them or where he was. It was a completely wrong year and he didn't know how he had gotten in there or how to leave. He looked helplessly at the woman and smiled a strained smile. The man, though, saved him from saying anything:

"I, however, think it is best if we take him to an orphanage. There he'll be around other children. Besides, we don't know if he's a troublemaker or not. And I don't think he wants to stay with us as he knows nothing about us."

The man smiled at Harry and he sighed in relief. The boy also looked relieved and Harry really couldn't blame him. The woman looked disappointed, but smiled anyway.

"Maybe you're right, darling. What do you think, Harry?"

"I don't want to be rude, but I would prefer the orphanage", he said with a kind smile and the woman nodded. She motioned him to eat the rest of his food, which he did slowly.

***

The man, Mr Bright, walked him to the door of the orphanage. The house was large but looked like it would tumble down from the lightest of breezes. He wasn't sure if it was safe in the house but walked in anyway. They were greeted by a woman whose face looked like it belonged to a rat. The inside of the orphanage wasn't any better than the outside. The wooden floor was coated with dust and the curtains looked like they hadn't been washed in many years. One could barely see out of the windows to the unkempt garden. The light in the entrance hall was dim as there was only one oil lamp to lighten the large hall. The rat like woman looked at Harry in disgust and then at Mr Bright.

"What's his name?" she asked wit a blurry voice and pointed at Harry as if he was an animal. She probably thought he was nothing more than an animal as he was a child with no parents. A few children peered through the door to see what was going on in the entrance hall. They looked as bad as the house and the young wizard started to wonder if the orphanage was a good idea after all.

"He is Harry, Ma'am. He has no parents and suspects that his relatives are dead. He doesn't remember how he came here or anything else for that matter", Mr Bright said with a kind smile and squeezed Harry's shoulder tightly.

"So he doesn't remember anything except his first name and that he had relatives and shouldn't be here?"

"That is right, Ma'am."

Harry started to feel sick and he felt his breath starting to speed up. He tried to control his breathing but the longer he stood there in the hall that looked like it could fall down any minute the more claustrophobic he felt. Mr Bright held his shoulder tightly in an effort to comfort him but it didn't help at all. He started to tremble and closed his eyes.

"I don't know if we can take in a child with no memory and thus no identification."

"He's a good boy, Ma'am. He won't do any harm to you."

"Getting him into a school pays, and if I don't have any guarantee he will do well in school…"

Harry opened his eyes and looked at the woman. She looked cold and like someone who doesn't like what they're doing. He didn't want to stay there but it probably was the only place he could go to. The door behind him and Mr Bright opened and he turned to look. There in the doorway stood a boy in clean clothes and looked out of place. He had black hair that framed his perfect pale face. He was tall and elegantly built with an aristocratic aura around him. Harry recognised him immediately. _Tom Riddle_, he thought and kept on staring at the sight in front of him.

"Tom? Where have you been?!" screamed the woman angrily when she noticed Riddle and came towards him. He didn't react but stood in place staring back at Harry with a look of curiosity on his face.

"Is he a new kid?" he asked the raging woman who stopped screaming immediately and took a look at Harry. She measured him with her eyes and nodded then reluctantly.

"Yes, he is a new kid. Show him places and tell him the rules", she ordered Riddle and went away. Mr Bright sighed and Harry looked at him.

"Thank you, sir", he whispered and the man nodded. He then nodded to Riddle too and went away. The boys stood in the entrance hall looking at each other. Harry wasn't sure what he should do, so he just stayed quiet and waited for the other to make his first move. Finally, Riddle came forward and offered his hand.

"Hello. My name is Tom Riddle. Nice to meet you."

Harry hesitated only a moment before taking the offered hand in his own with a small smile.

"Hey. I'm Harry. It's nice to meet you, too."

*~*~*~*

So, this is my first chaptered story here. It is not ready and I will update, when I update the story in . I am writing the seventh chapter right now, so maybe I will update the second chapter, You're A Wizard, Too?, sooner.

Please review! =)

~Shierr~


	2. Chapter 2: You're A Wizard, Too?

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, the world of Harry Potter is not mine, they belong to J. K. Rowling.

Warnings: Language, Yaoi / Slash, OOC, Mpreg, Time Travel

Rating: NC-17

After being for a week in the orphanage Harry had to confess that Tom Riddle wasn't such a bad person after all. They shared a room upstairs and had more fun then either has ever had. Harry would have never thought he would enjoy the company of the future Dark Lord, but here he was, laughing his arse off in the middle of the night, because Tom had told him some bizarre joke that made no sense but was funny anyway.

The other children in the orphanage weren't as social as Tom was, but it didn't really bother Harry. All of the other children were much younger than he so he was only glad he came along with Tom, even though he knew what he would become. He was actually hopeful to change it if he was to stay in the past. After the week he was already feeling torn between wanting to go back and staying. Harry of course knew Tom Riddle was good looking and charming, but he had had no idea just how charming the boy could be. It was scaring him a little actually. He wasn't sure if it was a right thing to do, to fall for someone who was to become an evil Dark Lord. He kept this to himself, of course, but felt a little lonely by doing so.

***

One day Harry climbed on the bed next to Tom and asked unnecessarily:

"What school do you go to, Tom?"

The other boy was quiet for a while and then looked at him with a frown.

"A boarding school", was the short answer and Harry smiled. He lay down on the soft bed and stared at Tom with his bright green eyes.

"You know, I could ask the other children. And I want to be in the same school as you", he whispered and continued the staring knowing it would make the other nervous and less careful with his words. As suspected, Tom started squirming under the stare and tried to keep his eyes from Harry's. Then he sighed in annoyance and said with a growl:

"I go to a boarding school named Hogwarts. You can't come there."

"You can't know that, Tom. Tell me more, please."

Tom snorted and lay on his side towering over the smaller boy.

"I know you can't come there, Harry. You don't have the required abilities", he said in a very annoyed voice and Harry's stare became sad. He didn't want Tom to lose his temper just because he kept going on with the questions, but he had to. He wasn't supposed to know that Tom was a wizard, so he had to make Tom realize he was a wizard too. Sadly, it seemed to be a lot harder than thought.

"How can you know? You haven't known me for that long and don't know what abilities I have", he tried to argue, but Tom just laughed bitterly.

"I know you don't have this ability, little one."

i_All right, now we'll know just how good I'm at acting_/i, Harry thought and summoned a hurt look on his face and into his eyes. Then he rolled off the bed and stood in the middle of the room with tears in his eyes. Tom looked at him startled and had a clearly confused look on his face.

"How can you say that, Tom?! As if I'm not good enough to know what you are doing. Or to know who you i_really_/i are! Is it that? I'm not good enough, or smart enough? If that's the reason, then I don't think we should hang out together", he screamed and let the crocodile tears fall down his cheeks.

"Harry… It's not that", Tom tried to say desperately, but Harry only shook his head and whispered dramatically:

"You don't want to really know me, do you? And you don't want me to know you. You don't care for me at all!"

The Gryffindor knew he was getting rather far away from the point, but he thought it might actually help. He was acting rather hysterical. The other boy stood up and reached his arms towards him, but he only turned his back to Tom.

"Of course I want to know you, little one! I've never had this much fun with anyone. I just can't tell you", he said with a soothing voice, but Harry sniffed and said:

"So you don't trust me. Even better!"

Two strong arms wound around him and he blinked his eyes in surprise. He hadn't expected this to happen. Tom's warm breath was on his neck and it made him shiver.

"As you said, I don't know you. I don't know if I can trust you. You hardly ever tell me anything, so why should I?" the taller boy whispered in Harry's ear making him shiver again.

"I'm not telling you things because I can't remember them", he muttered and tried to wiggle his way out of the embrace, but Tom held him tightly. He was starting to feel hot and felt the blood rush down. He really couldn't afford a hard-on while in a tight embrace having a serious discussion with the boy holding him in the tight embrace. "Could you let me go, Tom? I'm still hurt."

"No, I can't. You'll run if I let you go and I don't want you to run away from me. I want to keep you close."

"Then tell me about your school. I'm really hurt by the fact that you don't trust me enough to tell me such a small thing."

Harry heard a long sigh from next to his ear and he shivered again. Didn't Tom feel the shivers or didn't he care? Probably the last one…

"It's not a small thing. You'd run if I tell you. You'll be scared of me and go away", came the sad whisper and Harry's heart melted at the voice. He blinked his eyes and sighed himself. Maybe a small lie was allowed in such a situation.

"I saw your wand, Tom. I just wanted for you to tell me on your own. Maybe I was mistaken; maybe you're not the nice person I thought you were…"

Harry felt Tom stiffen and then he was released. He turned around to see the other eying him suspiciously. Suddenly there was a huge hole between them.

"Who are you?" Tom asked with a low voice and Harry sighed again.

"I'm still Harry. I'm a wizard, too. You can trust me."

The look of suspicion didn't disappear and Harry started to fear he had lost the trust they had built between them.

"And you say I'm the one who doesn't trust?"

"You never asked! I asked and you still didn't tell me anything. I would have told you if you had asked me", Harry told the thick headed boy in front of him. "Look, I have trouble in trust, too, but I still trust you enough."

"Well, you had the advantage of seeing my wand. I haven't seen yours!" Tom shouted angrily and the glass on the table broke. With a shudder Harry closed his eyes and tried to keep the fear away. For a moment he thought he had seen a red glint in Tom's blue eyes and it was more than enough to make him think of Voldemort and everything bad that had happened. He heard his name being called but he ignored it. The only thing that mattered was to be safe.

"Harry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you and lose my temper. I was only so annoyed that you'd try to play a game with me."

He opened his eyes to see Tom standing close to him, but not touching. He shuddered and sat down on his bed.

"I'm sorry, Harry."

The whisper made him look up into the blue eyes. He managed a weak smile on his face and Tom sat carefully down beside him. When one strong arm came around his shoulders Harry leaned on the taller boy and let the warmth comfort him.

***

"Another one of your kind?!"

The scream made Harry wince and lean closer to Tom who just stared at the rat like woman. The boys didn't say anything while she raged on and on how they were good for nothing and dangerous when let near others and how they all should be rotten away. When she was finished with her screaming she calmly asked if Harry had already had any education in magic to which Harry could only nod.

"Good. Then I don't have to pay too much for your education. That must mean you have a wand, doesn't it? Good, then I only have to pay for the books", she said in a monotone voice dismissing the boys after that.

"She's scary", Harry muttered when they were in their room again and Tom grinned broadly. He let himself fall on Harry's bed and ignored the protests that followed.

"She only screams. She never does anything. When she's ready with her screaming she is Calm herself. Nothing can shatter it in a while again", the Slytherin told him and laughed a little. "It's nice to have you with me in Hogwarts. Then I don't have to feel so lonely and miss you."

Harry smiled fondly and lay down beside Tom. Yes, he was happy, too. It was a good feeling, like when he was with his friends. Sorrow flooded in him with that thought. He missed his friends so much that it was nearly painful. He was sure there was no way to get back to his time. He wondered if his friends missed him or even knew what had happened to him. They probably didn't know what had happened. How could they when he didn't know it either.

A light touch made him turn his eyes to Tom who was looking at him worriedly. He smiled at him and closed his eyes. He was afraid to feel home there beside Tom. He was afraid to feel good and safe. For it might all be torn apart again.

"Harry?"

He smiled more broadly and muttered:

"I'm trying to sleep, Tommy. Don't worry about me."

Tom's strong arms took hold of him and he was pulled closer to the warm body beside him. He kept on smiling and snuggled closer feeling sleepy all of a sudden. Maybe it would be a good idea to fall asleep in Tom's arms. It was safe there and he wouldn't get hurt. With these thoughts Harry drifted into a dream full of meadows and colourful flowers.

*~*~*~*

Please review! =)

~Shierr~


	3. Chapter 3: Back To the Wizarding World

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, the world of Harry Potter is not mine, they belong to J. K. Rowling.

Warnings: Language, Yaoi / Slash, OOC, Mpreg, Time Travel

Rating: NC-17

Saiya: Ye, he's feminine and he's defintely a bottom. =) Well, Tom Riddle isn't yet in his full power and Harry has met Voldemort. So he has an advantage... But he's a great actor, too. Has to be, if he wants his secrets to stay as secrets.

Chapter Three: Back To the Wizarding World

Another week or so passed by before Harry and Tom could make their way to Diagon Alley. Tom of course assumed Harry wouldn't know the way, or anything else in London either, so he was getting a rather long sightseeing tour through the big city. There were many people, but not as much noise as Harry was used to. It was interesting, being so far in the past. But still he had to think about his own time, where all of his friends were. And Sirius… He missed his godfather very much and almost started to cry at the thought of never seeing him again.

Tom snaked an arm around Harry and looked at him with worry. He smiled at the other boy and tried to keep the dark thoughts away for the time being. It would do him no good to think about the past – or the future – he would probably never see again. They went to the Leaky Cauldron, which was full of wizards and witches – and magical creatures. Harry's eyes widened at the sight of vampires and such. He had never noticed magical creatures in the Leaky Cauldron in his time and was shocked to see them lounging around as if it were the most common thing in the world. Maybe for them it was, but it was not for Harry.

"Is everything all right?" Tom asked when he saw that Harry was staring in horror at the people in the pub. Slowly Harry shook his head to clear it and looked wide-eyed at the other boy.

"I have never seen a vampire before", he whispered to the Slytherin and crept closer to him, seeking reassurance that everything was going to be fine. Tom took his hand and squeezed it tightly with a warm smile.

"They won't do you anything if you don't insult them or something. Just ignore them like you ignore everyone else, Harry. You'll be fine. Forgot that I'm with you?"

Harry managed a smile and let Tom lead him to the backdoor and through the wall into Diagon Alley. The streets there were crowded, as Harry was used to, with a lot of noise and there was a strange thrill in the air. There was no permanent fear of the Dark as there had been – or would be. People were carefree and happy. With a sorrow Harry had to remember the fear on the many faces he had met on Diagon Alley and felt a pain in his heart to think that the same fear would one day be a part of these people. His gaze wandered on Tom who walked by his side whistling a merry tune and couldn't believe this would be the man who killed his parents. It was an almost impossible thought for him. He took Tom's hand in his own and looked at Gringotts. The building towered over the other houses in its marble white glory. Tom pointed at the building and said with shining eyes:

"That's …"

"Gringotts. Yes, I know."

The other boy grinned at Harry and teased him:

"Oh, so you do know something."

"I do have a wand, Tommy. Don't forget that."

They went in a comfortable silence the rest of the way to the bank and entered it. It was crowded, too, but the business was well done and they didn't have to wait for too long. Tom laid a key on the table and soon they were on their way down to the vaults. As always, it was a dizzying journey, and Harry had to close his eyes. He didn't want to throw up on Tom's lap.

***

Even with the magical creatures roaming through the streets among the wizards, Harry found that shopping with Tom was a fun experience. First they had went and bought potions ingredients. Harry hadn't been thrilled about it, but Tom had helped him and explained every item they bought and some that they didn't. The Slytherin had been horrified at the lack of knowledge Harry possessed, but he had been more than happy to make a difference in this. And Harry found that potions were not really that difficult to understand with the right teacher and that it wasn't even that different from cooking. After they left the shop Harry was sure he would learn to enjoy brewing potions.

They were heading to buy books when they passed a quidditch shop. Harry looked longingly at the brooms and other stuff that had something to do with the sport, but Tom dragged him further along the street. When they were in Flourish and Blotts the other boy turned to him and asked:

"When is your birthday?"

"In two days", Harry replied after a while. He hadn't thought of his birthday after coming there. Too much had happened and he was still rather confused.

"All right. Then I have to find something for you soon. Today, actually", Tom murmured and looked at all the books. Inwardly Harry groaned and hoped the other boy wouldn't turn out to be like Hermione and buy him lots of 'useful' books he would never want to read. "I have a list of books we will need in school. Here, take this."

Harry got a list of books shoved in his hands and looked at it. School books and some that weren't required in class but were supposed to help in understanding the subject better.

"Collect two of each school book and one of the others if you don't want them. We'll see each other by the counter in one hour."

He nodded and they parted ways. He thought it was rather frightening to be alone in the crowded shop. But then again, it wasn't nearly as frightening as wandering alone in Knockturn Alley. He took a deep breath and climbed the stairs up looking at all the books completely lost. He had never bought his books all alone. Mr or Mrs Weasley had always been there or some other adult, at least. Someone who knew where everything was. He didn't have a clue as to where he could find these books. He looked at the people wandering about with a destination in their minds. Harry shook his head and started walking very slowly deeper into the store, but stopped after a few steps. He nudged the sleeve of a man who was inspecting the books in the nearby shelf. The man turned to him with a surprised expression and he took another deep breath.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you know where I can find school books?" he asked with a wavering tone and felt his cheeks redden. The man smiled friendly and looked around the shop.

"Yes, I know where they are. They should be just around the corner. Walk a little further down the corridor and then turn right. They're there."

"Thank you, sir", Harry said with a little smile and walked away quickly. He had had an unpleasant feeling about the man and wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible. He turned right and breathed more easily. There were signs above the shelves so he found rather easily what he was searching for.

***

Tom was already waiting for him when he came down and together they lined up so they could pay for the books. The Slytherin was smiling brightly at Harry, which made him suspicious as he looked like the Weasley twins when they were up to something.

"What is it, Tommy?" he asked carefully, not knowing if he actually wanted to know.

"Nothing special. Just found something for you", Tom answered grinning widely and alarm bells started to ring in the Gryffindor's brains. Now he was sure it was not really a good idea to tell Tom when his birthday was. Maybe he should have told him when they got to Hogwarts. It was too late now, though.

"Don't worry, Harry. You'll like it! Besides, I want to buy you something else as well, so I'll give it to you, when we are in the train heading towards Hogwarts", Tom tried to reassure Harry, but he remained suspicious.

"I'm not so sure about that with you grinning like that", he muttered and put the books on the counter as Tom was laughing at him comment.

***

By the time they were supposed to head to the train, Harry was very sure he didn't want the gift Tom wanted to give him. The Slytherin had been too happy to keep the present as a secret and vanished at odd times to give the present many finishing touches so that Harry was sure it was full of hexes he didn't want to get to know.

All the same they were at King's Cross wandering to the platform 9 and three-quarters. Tom was whispering him instructions for the easiest way to cross the magical barrier, but he was only half listening. He feared going to Hogwarts, and the memories he had in there of his friends. He feared he might break down. And he couldn't tell anyone how he was feeling. They all would think he was a lunatic if he did. He closed his eyes shut tightly when they walked through and opened them only when Tom was poking at his side. The train was there, like always, red and puffing smoke out. The feeling of loneliness and sadness washed over him, but he didn't break down or start crying. He followed Tom quietly and smashed the memories and feelings to the furthest corner of his mind.

"Harry?" Tom asked softly and Harry looked at him. His only friend in this time. And he smiled, because he wasn't alone, after all. "You all right?"

"Yeah. I'm fine, Tom", he answered still smiling and they hauled their bags into the train and in a compartment. No one looked at them or in any other way took notice of them. Harry was only happy at that. He didn't need anyone else right now. He felt safe with Tom, although it felt weird. He knew Tom would be a dark lord in the future, but he couldn't help but feel safe. Tom sat down and grinned.

"Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life, Harry."

So, please leave a review! =)


	4. Chapter 4: Returning To Hogwarts

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, the world of Harry Potter is not mine, they belong to J. K. Rowling.

Warnings: Language, Yaoi / Slash, OOC, Mpreg, Time Travel

Rating: NC-17

Chapter Four: Returning To Hogwarts

As always, it was late in the evening when the train stopped at Hogsmead and the students flooded out of the train. Tom held Harry back when the train stopped, saying he didn't want to be pushed with the crowd. Harry was only happy to stay with the Slytherin.

When the noise quieted down, they left the train. Outside were only a handful of students left to go to Hogwarts and many of them were Gryffindors. It didn't really bother Harry, of course, but Tom wasn't happy at all to be surrounded by the lions. He was muttering something about 'reckless idiots' as he stomped towards an empty carriage. Harry rolled his eyes with a grin and followed the Slytherin. Unfortunately three Gryffindors joined them and there was a glaring contest between them and Tom, leaving Harry to feel extremely uncomfortable. He coughed and three pairs of eyes turned to him. Again he coughed and tried to smile friendly.

"Hi. I'm Harry", he said to the three Gryffindors and they eyed him suspiciously. The one with the brown hair and eyes leaned back and stated:

"I haven't seen you before. Are you new?"

Tom rolled his eyes and smiled lazily while Harry relaxed a little.

"Good observation skills, I see."

"Shut up, Tom. I'm trying to do small talk."

The Gryffindors laughed as Tom glared at Harry for telling him what he should do. For the surprise of the three boys in front of them, the Slytherin fell silent. Harry smiled a little more genuinely.

"So, you're Gryffindors. What are your names?" he asked politely folding his hands on his lap. The dark one looked at him with curiosity and said:

"Yes, we are. I'm Howard Warley and these are my friends Johnny Carre and Danny Smith. Why are you with him?"

Harry looked at Tom who was looking back and answered:

"He is my friend. Of course I'm with him."

Johnny, a boy with curly blond hair and green eyes, laughed like he had told them a good joke. Danny grinned and said with a surprisingly low voice:

"Slytherins don't have friends. They only use people to their own needs."

Tom growled and glared fiercely at the Gryffindor. Harry felt the temperature fall rapidly and tensed beside the Slytherin. He knew it could get dangerous in there.

"You know nothing about Slyhterins!"

"I know enough", said Danny with a glare and Harry closed his eyes taking a deep breath. His hand flashed when Tom moved to attack the boy and he took hold of the Slytherin. With much effort he was able to make the angry boy sit again and forced him to look at him. It was nearly impossible for Tom not to look at Harry when his new friend was sitting on his lap. The green eyes behind the black hair looked hard at him, warning him not to speak or move. With a low voice Harry whispered:

"Don't, Tom. It's not their fault that they don't know any better. They have been taught to think of Slytherins as bad people, only good for cunning and betraying. Don't listen to them. They only want to provoke you into acting like they think you would. Prove them wrong, Tom. I know you're not a bad person. Prove them wrong."

There was a heavy silence in the carriage as Tom and Harry stared into each others eyes and the three Gryffindors stared at the scene in front of them. Finally Tom calmed down enough for the red of his eyes to bleed out back into blue and he looked at the shocked Gryffindors. He sneered at them and whispered:

"You're not worth it."

With a sigh Harry muttered:

"It was not what I meant, but it's better than a fight in the carriage…"

He moved slowly from Tom's lap and blushed when he looked at the stunned boys. It had not been his intention, but he didn't regret climbing on the Slytherin's lap. It had been rather nice, actually.

***

The rest of the way to Hogwarts went in an uncomfortable silence. When they got to the doors of the castle, the three Gryffindors left first without saying a word. Tom and Harry sat in the carriage for a while and then they too stepped out into the dim yard. A smile spread on Tom's lips and he turned to look at his new friend who seemed to be deep in his sorrowful thoughts. How he wished he could do something to stop the dark thoughts from taking control of Harry's mind. But Tom knew he couldn't do a thing for his friend in that matter and only tried his best to lighten the thoughts.

"Well, Harry Riddle, what do you think of my school?"

He watched as a sad smile spread across that beautifully pale face, the green eyes never leaving the castle.

"It's magically beautiful", Harry whispered in a voice full of emotion. For the voice only Tom felt the urge to take the boy in his arms and never let go again. Unfortunately he couldn't do it, so he settled for a smile of his own.

"Come. We should go inside for your sorting."

He received a nod as a response and they walked side by side the great steps to the huge doors of Hogwarts.

Inside of the castle the candles were lit, not quite enough to light the whole Entrance Hall. The students rushed to the Great Hall laughing and shouting greetings to each other. The smile on Harry's lips grew and lit up his face, which made Tom relax more and even smile a little. He noticed that Harry slowed down once they got inside the Great Hall and seemed unsure of where to go from there. Tom took his hand and guided him towards the Slytherin table.

"I know it's big, but you'll get used to it", he whispered, misunderstanding Harry's uncertainty. "Look up."

He watched Harry looking up and the many candles hanging in the air illuminating in the green eyes. A smile spread on the face and he longed to kiss those red lips.

"It's an enchanted ceiling. It shows the sky outside", he whispered into Harry's ear and felt the shiver going through the smaller body beside him. They sat down near the teacher's table and waited for the Headmaster to begin to speak. All around the Slytherin table students eyed Harry curiously and suspiciously, but he didn't let it bother him. He was new and so would be on everyone's lips. Finally Headmaster Dippet stood up and the students quieted down.

"Welcome everyone!" he said loudly and looking cheery. "First of all, we have a new student beside the first years. Welcome Harry Riddle to Hogwarts."

Claps were heard all over the Great Hall as Harry stood up and strode towards the podium. He smiled at the teachers and bowed a little to the students. He then sat down on the three-legged stool and put the Hat on his head.

"Hello, young man. It is nice to be on the head of an older student", greeted the Hat and fell into silence. Harry coughed and asked the Hat in his mind:

"Do you mind putting me in Slytherin? I have been told it could take me far."

"Hmmm… You do have Slytherin in you, young man. Your Gryffindor side is pronounced, though. But if you insist on Slytherin… "

"Please."

"Well then. Be welcomed into… SLYTHERIN!"

A loud cheer was heard from the Slytherin table and a few polite claps from the others. With a bright smile Harry strode back to the table he came from and hugged Tom happily.

"Now that the new student is taken care of, we can welcome the first years."

***

After the grand speech the food appeared and everyone started to relax also at the Slytherin table. When they noticed Tom being different in a good way when talking to Harry, they decided he couldn't be a bad person. They began to chatter off more relaxed and the former Gryffindor was curious as to what Slytherins would be talking about. It was what others would talk about too. Rumours and stuff like that. But he could sense a difference in the way they talked about others. It was if they were trading information, trying to gain as much as possible. It was confusing to Harry, who was used to the open atmosphere among fellow Gryffindors. Tom nudged him and he turned his head to him.

"There are people trying to talk to you, Harry. You should pay attention to your surroundings", the boy said with a smirk and Harry felt himself blushing. He looked at the boy in front of him, who was smirking, too.

"I just wanted to say hello and ask you how you tamed Riddle", the boy said with a wink and Harry turned a few shades of deeper red. Tom frowned at the boy, but he merely laughed. "Guess you didn't even know you were taming him. Don't worry; it'll remain a secret between us."

"Then it'll be known by tomorrow morning at breakfast", Harry replied with a weak smile and the boy laughed again. A hand was extended to him from across the table and he took it.

"Welcome to Slytherin, Harry. My name is Jackie Scarre."

"Harry Riddle."

"Yeah, I heard. Are you related to each other or is there some other reason you have the same family name?" Jackie asked and looked curious. Harry opened his mouth, but Tom was quicker:

"Is there something I need to know for the information?"

The former Gryffindor rolled his eyes at that and smiled to the boy in front of him. Jackie rolled his eyes, too and grinned like a Weasley twin.

"Black has an engagement ring and I know who he's with."

Tom raised his eyebrows and leaned back stuffing a slice of meat into his mouth.

"I guess that's not good enough", Harry said wryly and looked at his friend with an annoyed look. He only received a grin full of chewed meat and he looked away in disgust. Jackie laughed and asked teasingly:

"Haven't you been at a piggy boarding school before?"

"I wouldn't remember if I had", he answered vaguely and wouldn't answer the questions that followed the statement. Jackie sighed when he couldn't get any information from Harry and turned to Tom.

"So, he isn't family, is he? Well, it doesn't matter if I get the information now or later. But, Harry, I would like to warn you against Dumbledore. He's a right pain in the arse and feigns kindness. He's a tyrant and I think he wants to be a Headmaster."

Harry looked at Tom and saw his expression darken at the mention of Dumbledore. He really didn't like his Professor. He turned back to Jackie and said with a strong voice:

"I can take care of myself, Jackie. No need to worry."

"I didn't think you couldn't. I just wanted to warn you, because he isn't as nice as he acts. He hates Tom and is always trying to wrap him around his finger. Tom here won't be controlled, though."

The former Gryffindor smiled knowingly and looked at the Head Table. Dumbledore was watching him intently and he smiled at the Professor with his best smile that had girls swooning over him. The Professor smiled back and turned his attention towards his food. Harry turned to his food too and ignored the startled looks of Tom and Jackie.

"How did you now he was Dumbledore?" Tom asked suspiciously. Harry looked at him in surprise.

"It was Dumbledore? I didn't know, he was just looking strangely at me, so I put his mind at ease by smiling. If you don't want them controlling you, you should control them", he answered innocently, but he didn't fool Tom with it. It confused the Slytherin and Jackie looked far too surprised for his taste. He glared at the boy.

"Didn't you think he would think like that? He is a Slytherin for a reason, Jackie."

The boy looked at him in surprise too, but didn't answer. Tom turned his attention to his food and left Jackie alone with his thoughts. He had a calculative look in his eyes as he studied Harry's bowed head and rather submissive form. He would puzzle this boy out, he swore to himself and dug into his food with great appetite.


	5. Chapter 5: New Sufferings

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, the world of Harry Potter is not mine, they belong to J. K. Rowling.

Warnings: Language, Yaoi / Slash, OOC, Mpreg, Time Travel

Rating: NC-17

Harry remembered the way to the Slytherin common room from his second year and from the Marauder's Map, so he had to try his hardest to look like he was following rather than walking on his own. He listened politely to everyone who talked to him and tried to keep in mind every bit of important information they were willing to share with him and everything they didn't tell him. Tom was constantly on his side and was watching over him very protectively. Harry was tired, though, and it was hard not to fall into old gryffindorish habits the Slytherins would notice. Some of the things he said did earn him strange looks, but a glare from Tom was enough for them to stay silent.

The wall to the common room opened and the students flowed into the room. It looked exactly like when Harry was there for a brief moment, only the furniture was not as old and somehow the atmosphere was warmer than it was in Harry's time. Or would be in his time… Harry closed his eyes for a moment and stopped thinking before a headache could form. A hand was laid on his shoulder and he opened his eyes to look at Tom looking at him worryingly. He smiled reassuringly at him and took a deep breath.

"So. Tell me what is where", he said to his friend and watched curiously at the students getting comfortable around the room. That had never happened in the Gryffindor common room.

"The boys' dorms are on the right, the girls' on the left. There is a studying room in the back. You see the door in between the stairs to the dorms? The study room is there. The rest of the common room is here, showers and bathrooms are in the dorms", Tom explained in monotone and led Harry to sofas in front of the fireplace. The taller boy let himself fall on the sofa ungracefully and grinned at Harry who was looking at him with raised eyebrows. "Make yourself comfortable. This is going to be your home for the better parts of two years."

Slowly the former Gryffindor sat down on an armchair and looked questioningly at Tom who was paying him no attention. Harry turned to see what was so interesting and his heart skipped a beat. There was a young man who looked just like Sirius and he was coming towards them. The lazy grin was very familiar to Harry and he just couldn't stop staring. The dark boy raised his eyebrow and asked with a drawl:

"Who's this new pet of yours, Riddle? He family?"

"There is no need for you to know that. Unless you have something for me…?" said Tom with an equally lazy grin and the boy laughed. "Harry, this is Cylferth Black, a school friend of mine. Cylferth, this is Harry. Not my pet."

Cylferth laughed again and leaned a little too close to Harry. He winked and grinned like Sirius would.

"Nice to meet you, Harry. Hope we'll become friends."

Harry tried to lean back and away from this person who reminded him so much of Sirius. Tom coughed and Cylferth looked at the other Slytherin.

"You are making him uncomfortable, Black."

"Didn't you see the way he looked at me, Riddle?"

"You are engaged. You shouldn't even be noticing the way someone looks at you. Besides, he looked, and is still looking, rather terrified", noted Tom and frowned with clear worry in his eyes. "Is everything all right, Harry? You don't look good."

"I'm fine", said Harry with a slightly higher voice than usual telling Tom that his friend was anything but fine. The former Gryffindor jumped to his feet and said with slight panic in his voice:

"I think I'm going to sleep. This has not been an easy day to me. Good night. It was nice to meet you, Cylferth."

Tom jumped to his feet, too, when Harry practically ran to the stairs and up into the dorm. The older Slytherin followed his friend not paying any attention to the rest of the Slytherins who were watching them curiously. He found Harry sitting on his bed on the other side of the room.

"What's wrong, Harry?" he asked, but the boy only shook his head. "You don't remember?"

He noticed the hesitation before his friend nodded slowly as if not sure himself. He sat down beside Harry and hugged him tightly.

"I won't let anyone hurt you, Harry. I'll be beside you."

Harry laughed dryly and whispered:

"You can't save me from my past. Or future, or whatever…"

Tom didn't really understand what Harry was talking about, but he decided that Harry was only very confused and not in his right mind at the moment and didn't know what he was talking about. He hugged the boy tighter and prayed to whatever gods there were that his friend would recover from his past he didn't remember.

***

Harry woke up the next day and was glad it was weekend. He had no intention of standing up yet and sighed rather happily. He heard the soft sounds of the other boys sleeping and wondered if it was still very early in the morning. Slowly he opened his eyes to see Tom sleeping peacefully in the bed next to his. The sun was just rising above the horizon, so it was still very early, as he had thought. Sighing he sat up and looked around the dorm. There were six boys in the room, in Slytherin green beds. It didn't look like a dungeon with all the carpets, trunks and beds. Harry had always thought that green was a somewhat cold colour, but in the morning sun he saw that it looked actually quite warm. He noticed the boy moving restlessly in the bed across from his and wondered who it was. The boy sat up rubbing his eyes and looked tiredly at Harry. He yawned and said:

"Good morning. What's your name?"

"Morning. I'm Harry P…Riddle. What's your name?"

"My name is Duane Prince. Nice to meet you. Are you always up so early in the morning?" Duane asked curiously. Harry shook his head and smiled friendly.

"I usually sleep until noon, if I only have a chance to. I don't know why I woke up so early. Maybe my mind thought I have to wake up to classes", he answered with a laugh and Duane grinned. "Prince, you said? It sounds familiar."

"Prince is an old family. It would be strange if you hadn't heard the name before", the other boy said with a sigh. "It's sometimes a curse to be from an old family."

Harry frowned and thought hard. He had never known a Prince. The name sounded familiar, but nothing more. But it was odd, if the family was old, like the Malfoy's. He should have at least heard of someone, but couldn't remember anyone. He shook his head a little and said then apologetically:

"I don't know anyone else with the name Prince. But then again, I can't remember much from my past."

Duane frowned too and said:

"That's weird. Well, if you can't remember anything, then it's not that strange. Anyway. What is your relationship to Riddle?"

"What do you mean?"

"No one gets inside that mask of steel. It's impossible. He doesn't trust anyone, and no one trusts him."

Harry stared at Duane for a while. He knew from Dumbledore that Tom Riddle was a hard nut to crack, but that didn't seem to be true. Tom did trust, but it had to be earned. And the connection they had might still pull them together.

"I trust him. Don't try to tell me anything else, Duane. I know what I know. You can say whatever you want", he said quietly and Duane raised his eyebrows. The Slytherin was surprised by the slight anger and confidence in Harry's voice. He had thought the boy was fragile and not very perspective, but he seemed to have a strong will of his own.

"I just wanted to warn you. Many have tried to get close to Riddle, but no one has succeeded. Good luck with your quest", he said with an evil smile that reminded Harry of Snape and left to the bathroom. Tom was startled awake when the door to the bathroom closed and he looked curiously at Harry. He only got a sad smile as an answer.

"Why are you awake, Harry? It can't be very late."

"I just woke up. It's nothing to be worried about", Harry whispered and got up. Tom held the blanket up and the younger boy crawled under the warmth. He snuggled closer to the Slytherin and sighed happily. Tom stroke his hair gently and pulled the small body closer to his. "Let's sleep, Tom."

***

At lunch Duane sat next to Tom with a seemingly friendly smile.

"Hello, Riddle. I hope you slept well", he said sweetly and a few girls nearby giggled like fools. Tom looked up at his fellow Slytherin and smiled.

"I always sleep well, Prince. You shouldn't worry about it", he answered just as sweetly and checked Harry wasn't nearby to hear him.

"Is that so? Anyway, I talked to your pet this morning", said studying the contents of the table at the same time. Tom did the same and waited for the other boy to continue. "He seems to be fond of you. I tried to warn him, but he already knew you are dangerous. I wonder why he is still by your side, if he knows this."

Tom's smile widened and he tapped Duane on his shoulder.

"I'm not dangerous on my own. People make me dangerous. Harry happens to have a calming effect on everyone, including me. He's strong, so don't you worry about him. That's my job."

Duane laughed at that and Tom glared angrily at him.

"You can't take care of someone if you can't take care of yourself."

"If I were you, Duane, I would think before I open my mouth in front of Tom."

The boys looked up in surprise when Harry spoke. The younger boy didn't look as fragile as he usually looked, with anger in his eyes. They felt a tightly controlled magic around him and stared at him. Then Harry turned to Tom and smiled brightly. He sat down and grabbed a bowl full of potatoes.

"I would hope that you would talk to me, instead of Tom. It would be polite."

Duane leaned back and stabbed a carrot with his fork.

"Oh really? I know Tom, I have known him for five years. You don't look like you could handle him."

Harry burst out laughing and Tom looked at his friend in shock.

"Handle him? I never intended to do that, deary. But if I did… I have handled worse things than a teenage boy with thoughts of grandeur."

He got a glare from Tom and a laugh from Duane.

"Think before you talk. Wasn't that what you said to me?"

"I did think before I talked", Harry answered softly and looked Tom in the eyes. At that instant the older Slytherin knew his friend wasn't what he thought he was. It scared him a little that he didn't know Harry at all, even though he hadn't really known him before either.

Jackie came from out of the blue greeting everyone happily. Harry grinned at the boy at let him sit beside him. Tom and Duane left them to their carefree chat and dwelled in their own thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6: Who Are You?

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, the world of Harry Potter is not mine, they belong to J. K. Rowling.

Warnings: Language, Yaoi / Slash, OOC, Mpreg, Time Travel

Rating: NC-17

After breakfast the students got their timetables. Professor Slughorn, the Head of House Slytherin came with a disgustingly happy smile and talked to almost everyone around the table. Harry feared what would become of him when the man approached him and he put on a suffering smile. The Professor looked at the two empty seats with confusion and looked up to Harry.

"Where are Tom and Duane? They don't have their timetables yet!" he asked and blinked his eyes stupidly. Harry smiled a little wider and said softly:

"They left already, Professor. I think they are in the common room. I can give their timetables to them."

"Could you?" Slughorn asked, his face brightening. "Oh, I did not know Tom would let anyone take his timetable for him. Or Duane, for that matter. Thank you, young man. What was your name again?"

"Harry Riddle, sir."

"Riddle, you say? You are related to Tom?"

"No, sir. I don't remember who I am, so they gave me his family name in the…", Harry drifted off and smiled. He wasn't sure if anyone knew where Tom lived, and he didn't want to make things bad between them. He was sure Slughorn knew anyway. "I was given his family name."

"I see. Well, thank you anyway, Harry. Here you are! Yours, Tom's and Duane's."

Harry took the three sheets of parchment into his hand with a soft 'thank you' and the Professor left humming to himself. Jackie turned to Harry with curiosity in his eyes.

"In the…?" he asked with a grin and Harry glared at him. He didn't want to say it out loud before he had asked Tom. "Oh, come on, Har! You can tell me!"

The former Gryffindor looked at Jackie peculiarly.

"It's none of your business, my dear. If you don't already know, then you don't have to know now, either", he said seriously. "And please, don't call me Har…"

Jackie shrugged and grinned.

"What should I call you, then? I don't like Harry, it's kind of long."

Harry sighed and smiled as if he was in pain.

"Call me Luna, if you must call me something other than my name."

"Luna?" Jackie laughed. "Isn't that a girl's name?"

"I don't think it has to be a girl's name, but if you don't like, don't use it. Or come up with something else. But I have to approve it before you start to use it, Jackie. Understood?"

Harry looked at Jackie warningly and the other boy gulped audibly.

"I understand you perfectly, Harry."

He received a nod for an answer and a mischievous grin. Jackie relaxed and they ate their breakfast in companionable silence.

Tom lounged on a loveseat near the fire when Harry entered the common room. The former Gryffindor looked around in the crowded room and steered towards Duane. Tom frowned and wondered why the boy didn't come straight to him and saw his friend give something to Duane. Suspiciously he watched the boy look around again and their eyes met. Harry's eyes seemed to light up with joy and he made his way to Tom.

"Hey you", he said softly and sat next to the gloomy Slytherin.

"Why did you talk to Duane?"

Harry looked at him in confusion. Then he looked a little hurt and Tom regretted the way he had greeted his friend.

"I don't need a reason to talk to someone besides you, Tom. You don't own me", he whispered dangerously and Tom felt his heart ache with horror. He was sure Harry would stand up and walk away. But the boy drew something out of his pocket and gave it to the Slytherin. "Here. It's your timetable."

Tom looked at the parchment in his hands and bit his lip. He looked at his friend who was slumped in the loveseat and looking grimly around the common room.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I had no right", Tom whispered very quietly and wasn't sure if Harry could hear him. But he saw that beautiful smile grace the red lips of his friend and his heart beat a little faster.

"No, you had no right", was the whispered answer. "But I know you, my friend. Just remember that I don't like being treated like I'm owned."

"I won't forget, Harry." Tom smiled at his friend and looked down at the timetable. It was Monday the next morning, so he wanted to be well prepared for the next day. First he had Transfiguration, then Charms, a period off and lastly, double Potions. He sighed with annoyance. He didn't have any problems in Potions; he just didn't like Slughorn as their teacher. The man knew enough, though, and even a little about Dark Arts.

He glanced at Harry who was staring at the fire apparently deep in thought. He didn't know how his friend would react to the knowledge of Tom wanting to study Dark Arts. He bit his lip and thought. Harry had shown absolutely no interest in talking about the subject, but it could just be that he was just as uncertain about it as Tom was. On the other hand Harry seemed to him as being the last person in the world to be interested in Dark Arts.

He frowned and let himself fall lower on the loveseat. Harry turned his head to him and frowned as well.

"What is wrong, Tom?" he asked worrying. The older boy just shook his head and stared at the timetable in his hands. "I know it's not 'nothing'. Spill it out!"

"I'm just thinking, Harry. Nothing is wrong", he muttered and gazed at the students filling the common room. He saw a beautiful woman walking towards them and cursed silently. Harry looked in the direction and raised his eyebrows. The girls had long, reddish brown hair and tanned skin. She had seductive clothes and walked alluringly. She stopped in front of the two boys and smiled brightly.

"Hello, boys. How are you two doing?" she asked with a musical voice. She winked at them and sat down on the table in front of them. Both Tom and Harry remained silence. She giggled, as if she had known there would be a silence. "My name is Aaliyah. You're the new one, aren't you?"

Harry smiled at her nervously and glanced at Tom, whose face was impassive. No help was coming from him.

"Yes, I'm the new one. Nice to meet you", he said politely and tried to find some escape. He was feeling very uncomfortable near this girl and wanted to leave. Aaliyah laughed merrily and grinned.

"You have a tongue! I was wondering about it when you merely stared at me", she giggled and Harry felt himself blush. He glanced at Tom who was looking a little angry and decided to get the girl to leave.

"Yes, I have a tongue, and I know how to use it", he said softly with a dangerously sweet smile which seemed to charm Aaliyah. Tom looked up at Harry, surprised. The former Gryffindor stood up and bowed over the girl. He looked deep into her blue eyes and touched her cheek lightly with his fingers. Tom's eyes flashed with jealousy and he felt an urge to grab that hand. He controlled the urge, though, and watched.

"You remind me of someone, Aaliyah", he whispered, making his voice sound a little like a hiss. "Hmm, let me think… No, it wasn't a girl like you. No, a boy. Blond hair, blue eyes. Almost like yours, Aaliyah. Quite beautiful, if you ask me. But you know what? I hated him with all of my heart. He was an arrogant bully, and extremely spoiled. He had no thoughts for anyone but himself. He also knew that he was beautiful and used it shamelessly. It seems to me you do the same thing. I have no appreciation to people who use their looks to get something they want."

By the end of the speech Aaliyah's smile was wiped from her face and Tom was grinning. Harry backed away from her and walked out of the common room with his head held high. The two remaining Slytherins stared after the boy.

"I have never been insulted like this in my life!" Aaliyah screeched and a few students turned to look at her. Tom stood up, still grinning.

"Then it was about time someone did it", he said amused and followed Harry.

He found the boy sitting outside under a tree. He was throwing stones in the water with a look in his eyes that would have kept anyone else but Tom away from him. Tom walked slowly and silently towards his friend, watching the sun playing in his hair. Oddly, the black hair didn't seem black in the sun, but a very dark red. Tom's heart beat faster the closer he got and he felt a strange warmth wash over him. Harry looked up and the emerald green eyes met his. There was a pain in the eyes Tom wished he could wipe out, but knew that Harry had to deal with his own demons and ghosts. A sad, beautiful smile formed on the red lips and Tom felt like crying. He sat down and drew Harry close to himself.

"Don't worry, Harry. You'll be safe with me", he whispered into the hair of the other boy and squeezed his tighter. Harry wound his arms around the Slytherin and held onto him as if he was afraid that something was going to take him away from him.

They sat like that for a long time. The sun had climbed up in the sky and the school grounds were filled with students enjoying their last completely carefree day in the summer. Tom settled down on the grass while Harry remained sitting. They were silent for a moment before Tom asked:

"What do you remember from before you came here? You have to remember something to say things like that to Aaliyah."

Harry stared at the lake and whispered:

"I don't remember anything, Tom. I just had to say something to get her to go away and stay away."

"I don't believe you. I saw you. You spoke about that guy with such hatred; it could not have been a lie."

The former Gryffindor closed his eyes and fought down his fear of telling Tom. It was in the future, he could not tell the boy about it. He was sure it would be dangerous if he told Tom anything.

"It might have been some sort of a flashback, I don't know. But I don't remember my past. You have to believe me."

Tom sat up with a frown. He didn't trust easily and could understand that Harry wasn't willing to tell him all about himself. But he wasn't stupid. He knew Harry was lying and he didn't like it.

"I just want to know who you are. I'm not asking you to tell me all of your secrets. That would be unfair since I won't tell you all of my secrets. I only want to know more about you. I want to know why you are so sad sometimes", he said heatedly and took Harry's hand in his. The other boy jumped in surprise and opened his eyes wide. "I worry about you. I want to help, but I can't because you aren't telling me anything! How can I trust you if you don't trust me?"

Harry sighed tiredly and buried his face in his hands.

"We've had this conversation before, Tom…"

"That's completely irrelevant! We're talking about now", Tom interrupted and sat up with flaming eyes. He could not understand why the other boy was fighting so hard.

"How can I tell you anything when I don't remember anything?" Harry asked and looked him in the eyes. His emerald eyes were blazing and Tom felt regret at pushing his friend so far. But he could not back down now. He would only look like an idiot if he did, so he said in a desperate mean of trying to get the conversation to end:

"You remember you had parents. You remember your relatives! Tell me something about your relatives."

Harry's face reddened and Tom knew he had made a huge mistake.

"They were absolutely ihorrible/i! They locked me up in a cupboard before I found out I'm a wizard! There are these kinds of things in my past, Tom, which I don't even want to remember or talk about. All I want to do with those memories is to forget. Of course there are things I want to remember, but I simply can't. They hurt too much. You have to understand. I'm sure there are many things in your past you don't want to talk about, and I respect that. You'll probably lie to me, too, because you don't want to tell me. I'll tell you when I'm ready to tell you and you'll tell me when you're ready. Just be patient."

Tom let his head hang and he refused to look Harry in the eye. He was ashamed that he had made his friend talk about something so personal he hadn't been ready to tell. The other boy was right, of course.

"I'm sorry", he whispered for the second time that day. Harry smiled at the words.

"I forgive you."


	7. Chapter 7: Lessons

Ater: dark, gloomy (Latin) ./LatinDictionary/

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, the world of Harry Potter is not mine, they belong to J. K. Rowling.

Warnings: Language, Yaoi / Slash, OOC, Mpreg, Time Travel

Rating: NC-17

Chapter 7: Lessons

When Harry woke up the next morning he had butterflies in his stomach. He did not want to get up and face a new day in Hogwarts without his best friends. Sure he had Tom, but it was not the same. He buried his face in his pillow and cleared his mind of all thoughts. He pictured himself inside a bubble, with no sounds and no thoughts. No memories, nothing.

But the bubble did not last long, as his covers were drawn with a sudden movement and Tom yelled:

"Get out of bed, Harry! You'll be late for breakfast, which would mean you'd be late for classes, and I won't allow that to happen!"

Harry groaned into his pillow and turned his head enough so he could glare at the Slytherin. Tom was already dressed and ready to leave. He sat up when he noticed his friend's hand move towards his wand and noticed Duane getting out of bed and slinking to the bathroom. The door closed just into Jackie's face. The boy rubbed his eyes and grinned at Harry.

"Better get used to it, Ater. He wakes us up every morning if we're not awake at half past six", the boy said and stretched. He had a nice athletic body and a line of fine hair running down from his navel and disappearing into his pants. Tom hit him with a pillow.

"Up. iNow/i!" Tom growled and Harry hastily climbed out of bed. He rummaged through his trunk (which was not his own) and pulled out a pair of socks, trousers, a robe and a button-down shirt. By the time he was finished with this, Duane had come out of the bathroom and Jackie went in. Duane greeted him with a nod of his head and he smiled as an answer.

"What is on the agenda today?" Harry asked Tom who rolled his eyes at the question.

"If you have the same lessons as I have, then you have Transfiguration. After Transfiguration, I have Charms. Then follows a free period which I use for studying. As a last lesson I have double Potions. I am quite sure you have Potions with me, but I am not so sure about Charms and that free period", answered the future Dark Lord. That made Harry search for his timetable. He heard Duane mutter 'iwand/i', but ignored it. He found the piece of parchment on the bedside table and looked. Transfiguration, Charms, free period and Potions. He nodded and turned to Tom.

"I have the same things as you have."

Jackie came out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his waist rather low and Harry lost his train of thought for a while. Tom hit him again with a pillow and reminded of their limited time at breakfast.

Tom noticed Harry looking up at the blue sky longingly with sad eyes and he wondered if his friend had owned a broom. He made a note in his mind to take Harry flying sometime and steered the boy toward the Slytherin table. Jackie followed them with Duane. Tom did not know why, but he had not been able to stand the looks of approval Harry had given the merry boy. He felt jealousy raise its head in him and tried his best to control it.

"So, what's up with the name Ater for Harry, Jackie?" he asked instead of punching his fellow Slytherin. Harry looked at him strangely, but he didn't know why. Jackie shrugged and grinned.

"Harry's kinda long, so I suggested Har yesterday, but he didn't like it. I don't want to call him Luna, it's a little girlish. Sure, he is small and looks fragile, but he's still not a girl", the boy explained. "So, I pushed my mind for suiting Latin words and remembered 'ater'. It means dark or gloomy. Don't you think he's a little of both sometimes?"

Tom frowned, but it seemed that Harry liked the name.

"Yes, he's gloomy sometimes. But dark?" said Duane with a frown equalling Tom's. "I don't think Harry is dark in any way. His hair is black, but I still don't get the image 'dark' from him…"

"Well, yeah", muttered Jackie with a roll of his eyes, "But you didn't see the look he gave me yesterday. That was dark and dangerous."

Harry laughed and sat down on a bench. Tom sat beside him and grinned.

"You should have seen him yesterday in the common room! He insulted Aaliyah when she tried to flirt with him. I think you got something right there, Harry. She wouldn't have been insulted otherwise."

"Really?" Duane asked curiously. "What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing really. I just compared her to an arrogant arsehole I hated with all my heart", was the shy answer. "I usually don't like to insult people, but she just bugged me."

Jackie laughed when Tom rolled his eyes.

"You did not just compare her to someone, you made a true notion of her personality with one look. He said she's only using her beauty to get what she wants and that he despises people like that. Equal to saying she is despicable."

Jackie burst put laughing and Duane hid his grin behind his hand.

"You are something, Harry", the dark-haired Slytherin muttered. "Never trust a Slytherin."

He didn't know why, but the boy reminded Harry very much of Snape. The smile was small, but he could see the silent approval in the black eyes. It was nothing like the evil grin, because everyone with an evil grin looked like Snape. This was different…

And then he remembered it. The old Potions book with markings on the marginal. iHalf-Blood Prince/i. So Duane was Snape's grandfather.

"Harry? Is everything alright?" Tom asked laying a hand on the former Gryffindor's shoulder. Harry smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yeah. Everything is fine."

The Slytherin didn't look like he believed Harry, but it didn't matter at the moment. He wouldn't ask questions, at least not at the breakfast table. Jackie looked suddenly up with gleaming eyes.

"Tom?" The boy in question turned to look at his fellow student. "Where did they give Ater your family name?"

A silence fell over the four boys as Tom stared at Jackie with absolutely no emotion showing on his face.

"Where I live, of course. Don't act stupid when you are not, Scarre."

Harry would have liked to crawl into a hole and never come back out again. He was lucky that he had not told Jackie where he had gotten Tom's name or else he would be in trouble with the future Dark Lord.

They ate the rest of their breakfast in a repressed silence. When it was time for them to go to their classes, Tom didn't even look at Harry. The former Gryffindor knew then that it would be a long day for the both of them.

Transfiguration was where it was – would be – in Harry's time. There were many students in front of the classroom – more than were – would be – in Harry's time. He looked at the crests he could see. All were Slytherins and Ravenclaws. He turned to the sour Tom by his side and whispered:

"How many students are here?"

Tom didn't even look up at him when he muttered:

"Around one thousand. There are not many Slytherins in the school. Not many have our qualities."

Harry's mouth was slightly ajar as he took in the information. i_Around thousand?_/i There couldn't have been that many students in the castle in his time! He blinked in confusion and felt a headache coming. Tom saw Harry close his eyes and frowned.

"Is everything alright?" he asked and felt his heart leap when his friend smiled that beautifully sad smile.

"I'm fine. I just didn't think there would be so many students in here..."

"It's a huge castle, Harry", Tom snorted and looked at his friend with amusement. "Why would there only be a few hundred students? I suspect there have been more students in here in the past. The wizarding population is not so big as it used to be."

"Why is that?" Harry asked cocking his head to the side. His emerald green eyes were curious and the way he looked at Tom reminded the Slytherin of a puppy. He smiled without thought.

"Because the wizarding population is very inbred. Purebloods marry purebloods. As you must know, there are not many old families left in Britain. Or in the rest of the world for that matter. Some marry Muggles or Mudbloods and some marry halfbloods. So those families that are very proud of their blood, marry those who are as proud of theirs. And the cycle goes on. And there will be even fewer old families in the future."

Harry nodded to that. He remembered the family tree in Grimmauld Place. There had been many families in one by the end of it. Tonks, Sirius, Malfoy... They had all been of the same family.

The door to the classroom opened and the students began to flow in. Some gave Tom strange looks which he ignored. Harry shook himself and followed the others inside. Tom sat somewhere in the middle and glared at the Ravenclaw who tried to sit next to him.

"The seat is taken. Move."

"I don't see anyone sitting here, Riddle. I doubt anyone would want to sit next to you."

The smirk on the Ravenclaw's face was enough to make Tom want to hit her face. Or better yet, curse her with an evil Dark curse. But it was not yet time to show everyone what he could do.

From the corner of his eye he noticed Dumbledore looking at them with a concerned frown. But someone was quicker than the Professor.

"I don't know why everyone is so negative. No wonder he hates all of you! Besides, birdie, I want to sit on the chair next to Tom, and you are blocking my way."

Everyone turned their eyes on Harry, who was actually shorter – and otherwise smaller than the girl in front of him. He stood with his head held high in front of her and looked nothing like the lost boy Tom knew he was sometimes. The Ravenclaw turned to Harry and planted her hands on her hips.

"And what are you going to do, kid? Bite my ankles?" she asked with an evil smirk on her face and the Ravenclaws laughed. Tom moved to take his wand but then he noticed Harry laughing along. He stared at his friend in wonder.

"Did you know, that ankles are quite vulnerable? But I'm not small enough to do that. And I'm not a dog. Look, birdie, you don't want to mess with me when I get pissed. Or when Tom gets pissed. Especially, when he gets pissed. So, step aside, I want to sit beside my friend", said Harry with a calm voice making the Slytherins laugh. The Ravenclaws were seething, but Dumbledore didn't let it get too far.

"Children! If you would mind? Let him sit by Mr. Riddle's side, Miss Smith", he said with a gentle voice, that carried over the noise made by the students. The girl reluctantly went to sit by a different table and Harry sat elegantly down next to Tom. He smiled at the Slytherin and winked. Tom grinned proudly at his friend. The noise quieted after everyone had settled down and Dumbledore smiled friendly at them. Tom loathed the man. He wasn't sure why. The Professor tried to be nice to him. He had even been the one to introduce him to the wizarding world. But there was something behind that smile he didn't like.

He watched Harry out of the corner of his eye. The beauty was staring intently at Dumbledore, listening to his every word. Tom had already read the school book, so he wasn't really listening. His mind went to the summer holidays. To the day he had met Harry for the first time. His friend had seemed... familiar. He couldn't put a finger on the feeling. The boy was an anchor to his life, which had started to fall apart. A calm in the storm. It was comforting in a way that made no sense to him. He had always been alone, but now he felt like he couldn't live without his friend.

And suddenly he remembered he had not given the present he had prepared so carefully. He felt a pang of regret at forgetting his friend's birthday, but it didn't seem to bother Harry. He had probably forgotten about it. Too many things had happened in a short time. He nudged his friend who looked at him in surprise. Tom leaned closer and whispered:

"I'll give you your birthday present after dinner. I didn't forget."

Harry looked at him puzzled for a while and then his face brightened. It was a very beautiful sight to see the boy look so happy. It made Tom smile at him in return. Then Harry turned back to Dumbledore and continued his staring. The Slytherin wished he could know what was going on in his friend's head. He was afraid he might fall into Dumbledore's hands. He wouldn't let it happen. He would make sure it wouldn't happen.


	8. Chapter 8: A Late Birthday Party

It seems, that it has not been clear, how old Tom and Harry are (how surprising, I have not mentioned their ages... -.-). Tom is sixteen and Harry turned seventeen. They're in the same class, because Harry seemingly doesn't remember anything, including his age. So based on Harry's knowledge they put him in the sixth grade. He has gone through some of the same studies already in his previous year, but as it is a different time, they learn different things. So it's actually good for Harry to repeat the year. He'll have Tom, who is very intelligent, helping him and different teachers.

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, the world of Harry Potter is not mine, they belong to J. K. Rowling.

Warnings: Language, Yaoi / Slash, OOC, Mpreg, Time Travel

Rating: NC-17

Chapter 8: A Late Birthday Party

Harry was exited. He would get his birthday present from Tom. He had completely forgotten about his birthday. It didn't really bother him as he had never had a real birthday party, but now he was thrilled. He was pouncing around the hallways, drawing puzzled looks from the other strudents, but it didn't bother him. Tom was smiling brightly at him and was clearly happy to have made him happy.

i_So strange, his smile_/i, Harry thought to himself. i_Never before could I imagine his smile to be so warm..._/i

Quickly he shook his head so the thought would vanish. He had no desire to think about his past and the monster he feared Tom would become. He had fought that battle and wanted to live this life he had been given. It would only be painful for him to think about his friends and the war they were fighting without him.

The day passed on too slowly for Harry. Double Potions with the Gryffindors had been a horror, as it would have been in his time. Now, there were just many more stundents to harm each other. The class was in a larger room than were it was with Snape and still it felt crowded. They hadn't made a potion yet, but had went over basic safety in the class. Half of the Slytherins had seemed extremely bored and the Gryffindors had been whispering to themselves. Tom had made notes to himself, and Harry was sure they had nothing to do with Potions. He hoped it had been something for his birthday.

It was raining outside when they rushed to dinner, but Harry kept on smiling. Everyone else was muttering in annoyance about the weather. Tom was glad his friend had held onto his high spirit throughout the day. He had noticed that Harry could hardly wait for the present which was why he wanted dinner to be over already. But he couldn't let go of his pride, so he walked with long strides and a superior smile on his face. He would let no one see that he was impatient over something so unimportant.

i_The strange thing is, it isn't unimportant to me._/i

Tom frowned and wondered where that thought had come from. His eyes wandered to the small boy next to him and let his smile warm a little. Harry had messed up his life completely and the only thing he did was smile happily at him. He had not cared for such things as birthday parties, but now it felt important to make this small boy happy even with such an unimportant thing as a party.

He looked back at Prince and Scarre, whom he had persuaded to help him make a party for Harry. Scarre hadn't needed much persuasion, but Prince didn't seem to like Harry too much. Tom thought it strange, as the small boy had even managed to talk to Gryffindors in a civilized manner. It was none of his business, but he was curious. Black had already gone to the common room to prepare it for the everything. All they had to do was go to the kitchens and ask the house elves to bring some alcohol and food to the common room.

"Oh, come on, Tom. Let me see where we are going!" whined Harry, while he was led to the Slytherin common room with his eyes tied. He felt Tom's hand warm on his shoulders and he grinned madly. He knew there were others ariound him, but they were quiet, so he had no idea who was following them.

"No. I won't ruin the surprise", Tom whispered in Harrys ear and made him shiver. He loved it when the Slytherin whispered in his ear with his deep voice.

They stopped after a while and Harry was left alone. He wondered what everyone was up to, but decided to trust Tom's judgement on his safety. He heard something heavy scraping the stone floor and frowned in puzzlement. What on Earth was Tom planning?

He didn't need to wonder for long. He was pulled forwards with a quick jerk which almost made him fall and he was about to protest when the cloth was removed and he was left speechless by the shout of a big "Surprise!"

"This is for your late birthday", Tom whispered near Harry's ear and he had to fight back tears. He turned and jumped into Tom's arms and whispered back:

"Thank you. I haven't been this happy in ages."

"You remember when you were last this happy?"

Something in the tone made Harry step back and take a look into the Slytherin's eyes. He would have never thougth the other boy would take a statement like that as a slip of the lie he was trying desperately to create.

So, as an answer, he let a smile spread across his face.

"No, I don't. Tom, you're sometimes so silly", he just said with a laugh and turned back around. The Slytherin common room was decorated with every colour you could possibly imagine. Small fires danced around the air and sweet scents came from all the food on the table. It was his best birthday party ever. He had never had one, so it was not really all that hard to make a great birthday party for him. But what Harry saw before his eyes was plain beautiful.

Tom couldn't help but wonder what it was that Harry was hiding from him. He had of course noticed the look he had been given before Harry had put that smile on his face. He hoped the boy didn't think he was too stupid to notice such a small thing. He watched as his friend walked over to the table full of food and drinks, with all the Slytherins gathering around him, wishing him a wonderful late birthday.

Defeat, the Slytherin boy sighed. Harry was very good at keeping his secret and it would take him long before he would be able to find out the truth. But it was wearing on him, the lack of trust Harry seemed to have in him. He doubted he would last too long in this darkness that surrounded this mystery.

Slowly he walked towards the croud and plastered a smile on his face. All the presents that had been gathered for the Sylterins newest member became visible with the flick of his wand and he asked for silence. Immediately, it was quiet in the room and everyone turned their eyes on him. Harry turned, too, and his smiled warmed somewhat. How could he doubt that face that shone of innocence?

"I know this comes a little late, Harry, but I want to wish you a very happy birthday. You are now a year olden than you were, but that will not be slowing you down. Your magic is at its greatest growth at the moment and you will become stronger – in both magic and mind. You still have many years left to explore, to learn, to live. At this day – though it is a little late – I present you with a gift that will be useful for you when you start exploring the possibilities of your magic", Tom said in a festive tone and gave Harry the book he had picked up at the bookstore. Harry took it with shaking hands and carefully opened it.

It was a heavy book, but it had great pictures in it, to help understamd the words a little better. Harry's mouth opened in surprise and he looked at Tom with glistening eyes.

"Thank you", he whispered with great emotion in his voice. Tom smiled wider and took another present from the small pile. Holding it tightly, he started to speak again:

"And this gift I present to you with our freindship in mind. As you have no memories of your past and with that you have an open future. Nothing is written down for you, nothing is expected from you. So enjoy your freedom to choose what life you want to live."

The other boy took the smaller present with a strange look in his eyes. The Slytherin had been preparing this present carefully. He did not know if Harry would like it, but he hoped he would.

As the package was carefully unwrapped Tom could see the emerald eyes change from suspicion to surprised. Harry stared at the bracelet in his hand without a word and the other began to feel restless. Maybe it had not been such a good idea to buy such a present...

But then the smaller boy raised his eyes to meet Tom's and the smile that graced those red lips seemed to light up the whole room. Scarre peeked a look over Harry's shoulder and his jaw dropped down in amazement.

"Wow! That's quite a present you got there, Ater. It must have been expencive", he said in a loud voice, crushing the magical air that had been laying in the air. Everyone began to speak at the same time, making Tom feel slightly annoyed. Harry was still staring at him with that look. He was obviously speechless, but luckily that did not hold him from slipping the bracelet around his wrist. The taller Slytherin let a warm smile spread on his face and he opened his arms a little which made the smaller boy rush into his arms.

"Thank you", he heard whispered near his ear and a warmth he had never felt before spread thoughout his body. It was a good feeling.

It was a great birthday party all in all. Everyone was having a good time and enjoying themselves. Many drank the alcohol and all the food disappeared from the table. Harry got many nice presents, but he liked most of all the bracelet he got from Tom. It was plain silver, with one round emerald in it. Probably representing the colour of his eyes and the colours of Slytherin. It was cool and had a magical aura around it. The other Slytherin had probably made someone put spells on it. Or he had done it himself, even though he didn't know if there were some Dark spells to allow you to use magic as a minor. Luckily he didn't have to think about such things anymore.

Laughing to himself he leaned back to watch the drunken crowd. Jackie and Cylferth were the loudest ones (what a surprise...), singing a song he had never heard of. Duane was one of the few who was sobre and seemed rather bored. Tom was sobre, too, but he was amused, instead of bored. He was jinxing all the drunk ones every chance he got and laughed every time they fell or sprouted hair and other things Harry did not want to think about.

It felt good to think that Tom had gone though the trouble of holding a party for him. He had thought the Slytherin would only give him his presents, but he had surprised the former Gryffindor. It had been a pleasant surprise and made him feel all tingly and warm inside. A funny feeling that was frighteningly similiar to what he had felt near Cho.

Unfortunately, that thought brought back memories of his time in Hogsmead with all his friends. The good feeling he had just felt was like blown away and he did not feel like sitting in the common room anymore. Silently he stood up and went up to the dorm where he let himself fall on the bed, burying his head into the pillow. Memories flooded his mind, completely out of control. There was no way for him to stop them. The smiling faces of Ron and Hermione, Ginny, the twins and most of all Sirius...

The tears followed all the memories that had been good, but only brought him pain now. Strangely, he even missed Aunt Petunia. He had never thought he had liked the woman, but obviously, there had been some positive emotion lingering. She had raised him, after all...

After what seemed like an eternity, Harry heard steps outside the dorm. He breathed deeply in and out and hoped that the person would go away. He didn't wish for anyone to see that he had cried.

"Harry?"

Of course it had to be Tom. He knew he couldn't fool him, but he still tried. He did not answer, just kept on breathing. Maybe the other one would think he was sleeping, only tired because of the day. But his heart sank as the Slytherin sat down on the bed beside him.

"I'm not pushing you to tell me, but I'm asking. Please, tell me what it is? Why did you some up here?" Tom asked in a hushed voice, that was so tender, so sweet Harry felt like crying just because of it. He blinked the tears away and stayed silent. The bed sank a little more beside him as Tom lay down beside him, putting an arm around him.

"I'm here, little one. You have nothing to fear with me", the tender voice whispered in his ear and he felt lips place a small kiss on his neck. He shuddered and closed his eyes, letting his mind be drained of all thought. Of all the memories. He let the warmth that had been there before fill him again and his lips curved into a content smile. Tom started humming a soothing tune which made him start to feel drowsy. He hummed his approval and felt the darkness of sleep surround him.


	9. Chapter 9: Snakebite, Lovebite

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, the world of Harry Potter is not mine, they belong to J. K. Rowling.

Warnings: Language, Yaoi / Slash, OOC, Mpreg, Time Travel

Rating: NC-17

b**Parseltongue**/b

I have a dare in here. It is underlined. Found on this: .org/ page, a little below the top of the site. It is a Dare Machine and quite fun. It dares things I can't really do in this fanfic, like getting a phone call from the future. But I won't reveal anything else. =D

Chapter Nine: Snakebite, Lovebite

"**Nagini**."

A hiss answered Tom and he smiled with a sigh of relief. No one had found his snake, which he was eternally greatful for. Nagini had been his best friend ever since he came to Hogwarts. She was a dark green, that was almost black. And she was huge, even though she was still rather young. Tom had never seen such a big snake in his life before.

"**I have been waiting for you, Aric. It's been too long since I have last seen you**", the snake hissed at him, tongue licking the air around him. "**You smell different. Are you sick?**"

The Slytherin gave a little laugh and sat down on the cold stone floor, shaking his head at the same time.

"**I'm not sick, my beauty. I have found a human friend, at last. You would like him, I'm sure**", he hissed at her, smiling dreamily. Nagini gave a hiss that sounded like a laugh, making Tom look at her in worry. He had never heard her let a sound like that. She slithered to him and made herself comfortable on his lap.

"**You are happy, Aric. I am glad he can make you happy.**"

A small smile formed on the lips of the Slytherin boy as he listened to Nagini tell him about her feast in the morning. It was amazing how an animal like the snake could tell by the slightest change what was going on. Animals did not know the feeling of love, but they did understand affection and happiness. No human could read another like animals could read each other. It was one of the good reasons Tom did not like to be around other people. Which was also why Harry was so different.

Maybe, just maybe, he was starting to fall in love.

The weeks had been a pain to Harry. He could not remember school being so difficult in his time, nor the teachers being so strict and intolerant. Only Slughorn and Dumbledore let the students be children. Slughorn seemed not to notice the behaviour and Dumbledore simply let it pass with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

It was hard and it was taking its toll on the former Gryffindor. But the worst was, no one else seemed to have a hard time. Even Jackie was keeping up well with his studies, and he wasn't usually even paying attention. Maybe the presence of Hermione had helped Harry to be a better student, but he doubted it very much. He was trying his hardest to keep up and understand, but he just could not make it.

And on top of it all, Tom was disappearing frequently. When he needed his friend the most, he was never there to comfort him. At first Harry had not even noticed the disappearances, but then they started to happen more often, which bugged him to no end. Yes, he did those disappearance acts himself, but he always told someone he was leaving for a while to be with his thoughts. Tom never said a word when he left and not a word when he came back.

He had never thought it possible, but Harry was actually missing the other Slytherin, even though he wasn't very far away. And the loneliness he was feeling wasn't very helpful with his studies. It made it almost impossible to focus on the task at hand and it was making him depressed. He had no interest in doing anything.

Strangest thing with this was, that Duane had actually started to hang out with him. He always left when Tom came back from whatever he was doing, but that was understandable. The future Dark Lord was rather protective of Harry and him not liking the Prince heir did not help. It made the former Gryffindor sad, that he could not help them like each other. He had started to like Duane somewhat. He wasn't an open person, but neither was Harry. They usually sat in a comfortable silence and did their homework.

Sometimes, sitting there in the Slytherin common room with Snapes grandfather made him forget about his loneliness and feeling of abandonment that Tom left behind.

"Hey, Duane!"

The Prince heir lifted his eyes very slowly to the bright eyes of Jackie Scarre. He blinked two times very slowly before he deemed the lucky-go-guy with an answer:

"Yes, Jackie?"

The merry boy smiled broadly, which was very suspicious. He laughed and straightened up a bit, looking around the common room in a lazy manner that did not fool Duane. He was Slytherin for a reason, after all. When Jackie was satisfied, he leaned closer and asked in an innocent tone that did not fool him either:

"What are you planning with Ater? Take him away from Tom? You do know if that's your plan, you'll probably lose your life."

A predatory smile spread across the lips of the dark haired Slytherin and Jackie's own smile wavered a little. Only a little. He was a Slytherin for a reason, too.

"Oh, I'm not taking him from Tom Riddle. You don't take something from someone like him. I don't have to take Harry away from him. It seemes to me like he is actually pushing our newest member away from him. Accidentaly, mind you, but that does not change the fact, that Harry will soon see what monster lies beyond that beutiful face that has trapped him in its charms. Whatever Riddle likes to think of himself, he cannot keep people by his side willingly", Duane said in a low voice, that was almost seductive, making the other boy shiver with what possibly was fear. "And when Harry sees that monster, he will on his own accord come to me. I am there for him, unlike Riddle."

With a quick jerk Jackie was standing up straght again. His face had turned serious, no smile lit it up. He nodded quickly, with balled fists and turned on his heels. A slight hesitation as he looked over his shoulder at the cold Prince spoke of his uncertain mind.

"You will not do harm to Harry. If Tom won't stop you, I will", he promised with a dangerously calm voice. And then he left. Duane sat back in the chair and thought that maybe he had underestimated Jackie and his abilities as a Slytherin.

The Astronomy tower was fully booked when Harry wanted to go there to think and watch the starry sky. He gave the scared couple one look and left quickly when he realized they were practically naked. He was glad he had not recognized the couple. As a Slytherin it should have been intresting for him, but he just could not get past his Gryffindor side on this.

When he had climbed down the tower he stood there a little lost. He had no idea where he could go hide next. It seemed the whole school was packed with love birds. It had been packed with them in his time, too, but now they were _everywhere_. He had nowhere to go.

There was a scraping sound to his left and his head snapped up to look in the direction. He saw nothing, but that was no guarantee there was nothing. His eyes scanned the corridor and then the floor. Nothing to be seen.

With a disappointed sigh he turned away from where the noise had come and started walking with his eyes on the floor. He might have missed the momevent if he had not done that. A smile crept on his face and he started following the small, dark figure that slithered on the floor. He had never seen a snake in Hogwarts, but that did not bother him. Times were different, so maybe snakes were allowed in the school. He wanted to know where it would go.

After a while Harry decided the snake was going absolutetly nowhere. It slithered here, it slithered there, but it didn't seem to have a destination in mind. So he gave up on following it and started wandering with no destination himself. It was strange how he had not encountered one person while following the snake. Maybe it avoided humans.

_But why had it not avoided me, then?_

That thought made him stop for a while. Why hadn't it? It was a good question, but unfortunately he had no answer to it. So he shrugged and continued his wandering towards the dungeons.

Tom sat on the cool dungeon floor, waiting for Nagini to come. She was rather late and he was starting to worry. She wasn't usually late. He shifted nervously and looked around the room. It was dim, there were only a few candles lit around, so he could hardly see anything, but something told him it would be a good idea to leave the place. But he could not leave without seeing Nagini first.

After what seemed like an eternity he heard the familiar scraping noice of his snake moving about. He let out a sigh of relief and stood up to greet the giant snake.

"**Nagini! I'm glad you came. It took you so long, I was beginning to worry about you**", Tom said swiftly and scooped the snake up to his arms. Nagini let out an unpleasant hiss, but did not attack him. She did not like to be lifted up.

"**There was a curious boy after me. I did not even notice him at first. I don't know how ****that is possible. I should have been able to smell him before seeing him. I was trying to get away from him, but he was very persistent**", she explained as the Slytherin carried her away from their usual meetingplace. He frowned when he heard that, but shook it quickly from his mind. The air might have been different, which is why she had not smelled the stranger at first. "**Where are we going?**"

"**Someplace different. I don't have a good feeling. Like something bad is going to happen to us**", Tom answered while taking a look over his shoulder. No one was supposed to see Nagini. Snakes were not allowed in Hogwarts. They represented evil in their minds, just because Salazar Slytherin had been a Parseltongue. It was ridiculous. To blame an animal for the wrongs of one man. He would show them, some day. Snakes were not bad. Snakes were graceful, they were intelligent and they made good conversation.

With a few swift strides they had rounded the corner. Nagini's hiss made Tom stop in his tracks and look where he was going. His jaw opened slightly as he could only stare at the person in front of him.

"Oh shit...", he muttered in English and Nagini hissed her agreement.

Harry decided that the dungeons were overly boring. There was only stone and water to be seen as far as the eye could see. It was dark and it was grey and it was extremely depressing. It made him think about Tom and he didn't want to think about anything that would make him sad and lonely. It was the hardest thing he had ever tried to do.

Slowing down he came to a halt. He thought he could hear steps coming in his direction, but it was rather hard to determine. The dungeons carried sounds all too well, so he wasn't sure where they were coming from. Hesitantly he started walking again, but stopped as someone almost ran into him. Only a shouted warning from... something kept the person from colliding with him. When the person looked in his direction, he was surprised to see Tom in front of him. The Slytherin boy whispered as he recognized who it was in front of him:

"Oh shit..."

"**I do agree. He smells like the one I was hardly able to smell before**", came the answere from seemingly Toms arms and Harry had to look down. There was the snake he had been following earlier. It looked huge on the boys arms and somehow familiar, too. He frowned, but he was sure it could not be Nagini. Snakes did not live that long, did they?

Instead of thinking more of the snake, he turned his attention to Tom and slipped into Parseltongue without even noticing:

"**What are you doing here, Tom?**"

The other boy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped down. He was looking like a fish on dry land, which would have been funny if he wasn't a little annoyed at the Slytherin at the moment. He did put the image away in his memory so he could laugh at it later.

"**What?**" he asked impatiently. "**Have I grown another head? If I haven't, and you're just for the sake of it staying silent, answer me.**"

Tom closed his mouth and swallowed audibly. He kept staring for a while, though, and Harry narrowed his eyes dangerously. He heard an angry hiss from the snake in the other boy's arms, but he chose to ignore it. He knew Tom would master a basilisk, he would have mastered a much smaller snake by now.

"You speak Parseltongue?" the other Slytherin asked with a shaking voice, looking rather wary. Harry blinked at the question and stopped to think, controlling the emotions that followed.

_How could he know? He had not spoken in..._, his thought trailing to an end. Now it was his turn to look at Tom with wide eyes. They stared at each other like this, until Harry's lips curled into a goofy smile.

"I guess, I'm speaking in snakes again...", he said with a shrug and the other Slytherin seemed to relax a little. He even managed a small smile. But the huge snake didn't look happy. Or sound happy.

"**I don't like him, Aric. He smells wrong**", she said with an angry hiss, which set the alarm clocks in the former Gryffindors head off. He backed off a step and looked at Tom for help. But the other boy seemed to be in as much of a loss at something to do as he was.

"**Don't be silly, Nagini. He's my friend. You know I don't have friends other than you. He can't be bad**", the Slytherin boy said with a claming voice, but that did not help the situation. But at least he had been correct in recognizing the snake. That did nothing to lessen his fear, though. Now he could be positive she was poisonous and if she attacked him, he would surely die.

"**That is the thing that makes me worry most. You don't have friends. Humans cannot be trusted. He is a human, and therefore he cannot be trusted.**"

"**Tom's a human, too...**", Harry pointed out, but that was the biggest mistake he could have done. She did attack him. It was like seeing Mr. Weasley getting bitten again, only from the other point of view. He threw his arm in front of his face, to shield it, but at the very moment he felt the fangs puncture his skin, he knew he was done for.

"**No!**" Tom shouted from a distance. His vision began to blurr already, the other Slytherin was only a mass of colours.

_Well. At least I will die quickly_, was his thought when he sank to his knees and gasped for air. He felt warm hands on his shoulders and someone was shouting his name. He saw a strange flash of light and a peace that was familiar washed over him. _Fawkes?_

The bird sang to his thought, confirming it. A wash of relief flowed through his body and he let himself slump forward in Tom's arms. Fawkes landed beside him, though the only thing he could see was a blob of yellow and red. He layed his head on his arm, above the wound and started to cry.

"It's crying, Harry. You're not going to die now, are you?" the other boy asked with a trembling voice and the former Gryffindor shook his head, smiling lazily.

"He's healing me, Tom. He will heal the wound and the venom won't do anything. He has cured be before from a bite from a basilisk. This will be an easy job for him", was the whispered answer and he closed his eyes. He heard a scarping noise somewhere near and knew Nagini had slithered closer. The phoenix raised his head and gave a warning sound to the snake.

"Leave her alone, bird!" Tom shouted at Fawkes and the phonix looked angrily at him. Harry sighed and raised his head from the other boy's shoulder. He put a calming hand on his arm and shook his head.

"Don't be mad at him. He's only trying to protect me from harm."

"I'm trying to protect my snake from it!" was the answer and he sighed again. He didn't have the strenght to listen to the angry voices and noises. He didn't have the strenght to fight against them, to calm them down. Apparently the venom had been stronger than he had thought. The appeance of Fawkes may have come at the last minute.

"His name is Fawkes. He is a good phoenix. Loyal and friendly. Fawkes, this is Tom Riddle. He's a good boy and I want you to be nice to him. That snake over there is Nagini and Tom's friend. Please, be nice to her, too", he introduced them to each other and closed his eyes. It was so safe and warm in Tom's arms, he had no desire to rise from them. He snuggeled closer and let darkness take him over.

Tom did not know how he had been able to carry Harry all the way to the Slytherin common room and up to the dorms. The other boy was small, but still heavy enough. He just could not let his friend go. It was strange, walking down the dungeon corridors followed by a snake and a phoenix. He had to look back at the bird sometimes, to make himself believe that there was actually such a powerful magical creature following him.

Well, following Harry. He really should not underestimate his friends powers. He could not be a measley wizard if he had a phoenix following him around, saving him from snake venoms every other day. Really, surviving a basilik's venom was a great feat he had not thought the other Slytherin could have accomplished. He had no idea how he could have survived the deadly look a basilisk in the first place...

But it was not his place to question his friend, at least not now. Nagini's venom had been a little too much to the boy, as he had just passed out after introducing the phoenix to him and Nagini. Luckily for them the common room had been empty. Everyone was asleep or out with their lovers. No one would notice the snake and the phoenix and the lifeless boy he was carrying on his arms.

The moon shone through the window above Harry's bed, making the boy look like he was made of porcelain. So fragile, so beautiful. But still so strong under that frailness. He was a person to be admired. And feared. If he only wanted, he would be able to accomplish anything. But Tom was sure, Harry was too modest and shy to want to accomplish great things.

_But he doesn't have to. He can just stay by my side, forever, and enjoy what I accomplish_, he thought with a loving smile on his face. _Mine forever. I'll do everything I have wanted for you, Harry._

He setteled himself beside the other Slytherin and whispered in his ear:

"I love you."

The next day went on reasonably well. No one asked questions, which meant no one had seen them or noticed Harry being a little absent. He also had no apparent side effects from the poison and the healing, which told Tom that he was as well as could be thought.

The only things that made the Slytherin boy nervous, were the strange and somewhat shy looks Harry gave him. It bothered him as he didn't know why he was being looked that way. The other boy hardly even spoke to him, but he was fine with chatting and laughing with everyone else.

Tom did not like _his_ Harry ignoring him like this.

And it could become dangerous if he did not like something. But seeing as he did not want to hurt his friend, he decided to confront him. It was not how he usually did things, but Harry was not a usual person. He respected him and cherished him. And last night he had even confessed to himself that he was in love.

But that did not mean he could – or would – not be mad if someone he cared for and wanted for himself was not paying him the attention he should be. Jealosy was a strange feeling. In a way, he liked the feeling. It meant he actually cared. On the other hand it was a frustrating feeling. He didn't feel complete.

As Harry shot him a shyly curious look all thoughts of jealosy flew away. The boy was truly beautiful. Raven black hair that shone in the sun that was glowing through the enchanted ceiling, emerald green eyes that were so full of _emotion_ he could hardly stand looking in them, the milky white skin and those bloody red lips. His heart ached at the wonderful sight in front of him and he smiled without thinking. He could not stop the curling of lips, even though the heartache made him want to cry.

But it looked like Harry did not even notice what he was feeling inside. The other boy turned his attention back to Cylferth, who was blabbering on and on about his future wife and how great it would be. A smart marriage, a smart girl, smart children... Unfortunately for Tom, he could never have that. He had never had any interest in girls and if Harry never answered his feelings he could never have a happy life with someone.

With a sigh he rose from the Slytherin table and left without saying a word to anyone. He just wanted to be alone with his unhappiness. He did not even look back to see two emerald green eyes looking worryingly after him as he left the dining hall.

Tom could not believe how he was acting. His arrogance had come out in a way he had hoped it would not come out around Harry. Like an ancient cheese grater, that was how Tom was acting, and he was only sixteen. There was nothing in him that could be described ancient, but here he was. It would really be a miracle if Harry would ever talk to him again.

The Slytherin burrowed his face in his pillow and breathed the fresh smell of the pillowcase, the houselves must have changed the bedsheets during the classes. It was a slightly rosy smell and it made him smile. Harry's hair smelled like roses sometimes, too.

Turning his head to the side he wondered when the smaller boy would come to the dorm. He wanted to talk to him, wanted to hold him close, to make sure he would never leave his side. How he would make Harry never leave his side was something he did not want to think about. He knew he had ways of making people do whatever he wanted. But he did not want to hurt his friend.

Sighing the Slytherin closed his eyes and let his mind drift away from all the worries he had. From everything he had thought mattered most to him. All his plans, all his revenges. He was not sure he wanted that anymore.

There was the sound of a door opening and closing, but he did not open his eyes. Whoever it was, should think he was asleep and did not want to be bothered. All he wanted was to drift, stay away from feeling. Sail between darkness and the shades of grey that were never close to white.

"Tom? Is everything all right?"

Of course he had not taken Harry into account. He could not fool his friend and make him think he was sleeping. A good reason not to like the feeling of love and companionship. A good reason to let go of this person who had slipped himself into his heart he had not even known existed. But it was also a good reason to keep this person close. He would not be able to tell his secrets to anyone else if he stayed near.

The bed sank as the smaller boy sat on the edge of it. A warm hand was layed on his shoulder and Tom had to open his eyes.

"Don't you have friends to be with?" he asked with a coldness in his voice that scared even him. But the hand did not leave his shoulder. Fleetingly he thought if Harry was heavensent, but then discarded the thought. He had never believed in God, nor would he ever believe in Him.

"There are not many people I call a friend. You are one of them, silly. At the moment, you are the only one", came the calm answer. He could almost hear the smile on the red lips. The warm hand started to pet his hair and he closed his eyes again. How he regretted his quick and bitter tongue sometimes. It had already driven so many people from his side. Why did he try to make Harry go away, too? "I'm sorry, if I have hurt your feelings, Tommy. It has not been my intention."

The Slytherin nodded his head silently, afraid of unleashing more cold words. The other boy did not seem to mind his silence, as the hand continued to stroke his hair and Tom began to drift into a dreamlike state. It was comfortable and he did not want to leave this place. Only the muttered words of his friend made him open his eyes and turn to him:

"I heard what you said last night to me."

"What?" he asked stupidly. Harry had been uncocious, so he could not mean his last words of the night. Maybe he had been sleeping in his dreams, muttering something about his plans of the future.

"I heard what you said to me last night", the other boy repeated, with downcast eyes and slightly rosy cheeks. It was an alluring sight, but he did not have time for such thoughts.

"Well, what did I say?"

"You told me you loved me", Harry whispered shyly, confirming Tom's fears. He was not sure how the boy had heard him, but he had heard him and he wanted to be swallowed by the ground beneath him. He was very embarrased, but of course he did not let it show.

"You must have dreamt it, Harry. You lost conciousness after Nagini bit you", the taller Slytherin said, but the other boy shook his head in denial.

"I only fell asleep. I was rather out of it, but I woke up, when you lay down beside me."

That was an information that made the Slytherin speechless. He had been sure the other boy had been unconcious, so he had not been worried of what he might hear. But this was not good. He was not sure if he should panick or deny everything.

But Harry's smile melted all of those thought away. The emerald green eyes shone a warmth and kindness he had never seen in anyone before. And before he knew it, he was drawn in a kiss that took his breath away, making his body tingle all over.

If this was love, he never wanted to let it go.

So, the dare I chose to actually use was to include "ancient cheese grater" in the next paragraph. Quite funny.


End file.
